1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to landscaping tile for stabilizing the soil against erosion while preventing the growth of unwanted vegetation.
2. Description of Related Art
Hillsides that become overgrown with weeds are hazardous to mow or trim because maneuvering a mower or tractor on a sloping hillside entails an increased risk of accident due, for example, to the tractor tipping over or the operator of a mower falling and losing control of the mower. Using herbicides to control the weeds would completely eliminate the roots that hold the soil together and prevent erosion of the soil due to wind and rain. Using natural rocks to cover a hillside is laborious and expensive. Although landscaping tiles have been proposed in the art as illustrated by the references cited below, none of the cited references provide an inexpensive and easily installed landscaping tile which stabilizes the soil against erosion while preventing the growth of unwanted vegetation. Therefore, the need persists in the art for an inexpensive and easily installed landscaping tile which stabilizes the soil against erosion and prevents the growth of unwanted vegetation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,826,373, issued to Frances D. Mrdjenovich on Oct. 27, 1998, is directed to artificial landscaping boulders that are hollow. The artificial boulder of Mrdjenovich is designed to hold a potted plant and is not suitable for covering a hillside inexpensively and easily.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,671,699, issued to Edward F. Roach on Jun. 9, 1987, is directed to a perforated paving tile that does not choke grass.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,197,684, issued to Merlyn B. Johnson on Apr. 15, 1980, is directed to an assembly including spaced apart simulated rocks which are joined together by special connectors. The assembly of Johnson is not intended to prevent the growth of vegetation, but is intended to facilitate temporary removal of simulated rocks to allow the ground under the rocks to be mowed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,154,637, issued to Walter Kasten on May 15, 1979, is directed to a landscaping blanket formed by encapsulating rocks between two membranes.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,111,585, issued to Thomas C. Mascaro on Sep. 5, 1978, is directed to a modular support for turf and sod.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,616,103, issued to Greiner et al. on Oct. 26, 1971, is directed to a hard cementitious sheet having a simulated stone surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,343,468, issued to Paul Schraudenbach on Sep. 26, 1967, and U.S. Pat. No. Des. 341,218, issued to Kimberley Anne Easy on November 9, 1993, show paving blocks with textured surfaces. U.S. Pat. No. Des. 329,915, issued to Patrick Gutierrez on Sep. 29, 1992, shows a patio block having a surface with a plurality of hemispherical projections.
International Application Number WO 93/07339, published Apr. 15, 1993, and European Patent Application Number 0 004 364, published Oct. 3, 1979, show assemblies of connected paving blocks. U.K. Patent Application Number 2 212 195, published Jul. 19, 1989, shows an array of interconnected blocks used for soil stabilization.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.
The present invention is directed to a landscaping tile for stabilizing hillsides. The landscaping tile includes a top surface which is textured to simulate a bed of gravel, river rocks, or the like. The landscaping tile is flexible and conforms to the topography of the land. The landscaping tile is secured to the ground using a plurality of stakes. The stakes may be driven through preformed holes defined directly in the tile, or through a border frame which overlaps the tile. The landscaping tile helps prevent soil erosion while at the same time preventing the growth of undesirable weeds and other vegetation.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a landscaping tile that can reduce soil erosion while preventing the growth of undesirable vegetation.
It is another object of the invention to provide a landscaping tile that has an aesthetically pleasing appearance.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a landscaping tile that reduces the necessity for weeding a hillside or patch of ground.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a landscaping tile that is easy to install, maintain, and remove.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.